Study: Monterey County has highest youth homicide rate in California

A nonprofit organization’s annual study on youth homicide finds that Monterey County has the highest rate of youth homicides of any California county.

The “Lost Youth” study by the Violence Policy Center looks at homicide rates for Californians ages 10 to 24 in 2012. It’s based on analysis of data from California Department of Justice.

Statewide, the homicide victimization rate for youth and young adults ages 10 to 24 in California was 8.06 per 100,000

On a per capita basis, Monterey County ranked number one, with a rate of 23.32 per 100,000. San Francisco County ranked second, followed by San Joaquin County, Alameda County and Stanislaus County.

(The full study can be read here. )

This is the fourth consecutive year that the VPC has released Lost Youth. The ranking information presented in the study applies to 2012, the most recent year for which data was available at time of research.

Monterey County has ranked first in the state for three out of four years that the study has been published, but the rates are decreasing. The youth homicide rate has dropped from 31.24 in 2009 to 23.32 in 2012, and in 2011, it was 16.96 per 100,000.

The 10 California counties with the highest youth homicide victimization rates:

Monterey: 23.32 per 100,000
San Francisco: 23.20 per 100,000
San Joaquin: 21.90 per 100,000
Alameda: 20.86 per 100,000
Stanislaus: 14.88 per 100,000
Solano: 14.85 per 100,000
Merced: 14.82 per 100,000
Contra Costa: 11.41 per 100,000
Tulare: 10.75 per 100,000
Los Angeles: 9.55 per 100,000